


An Unbalanced Debt

by Noblehunter



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Faerie!AU, First Times, Keith’s age isn’t mentioned but high school so tagging for implied, M/M, Student!Keith, fae!Shiro, gradually less virginal!Keith, magic keeps trying to make Shiro do it, magical debts, references to bullying and similar unpleasantness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 18:03:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21165851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noblehunter/pseuds/Noblehunter
Summary: After an unexpected encounter with Keith, Shiro--a faerie of the woods and wild places--finds himself indebted to the mortal boy. Now he has to figure out how to repay Keith without screwing up the boy's life or attracting too much attention from the authorities. Too bad the debt doesn't care about any of that.





	An Unbalanced Debt

**Author's Note:**

> Major props to [Nautilicious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nautilicious) for the beta. Any surviving mistakes remain my own.

Shiro didn’t bother to pull up his pants as his slid down the trunk to sit at the base of the tree. Spit dried on his cock as he watched Keith run between the trees, not quite late for whatever meeting his alarm was for. Shiro let power spin out from the unbalanced and open-ended debt between them to guide the boy’s feet. He’d be just barely in time. It was a way to start repaying Keith. A first small service in exchange for what Keith had given him. 

Still, that Shiro had allowed such a debt to exist made him beat his head against the massive oak. He needed some punishment for his brainless, cockheaded stupidity. It didn’t hurt nearly enough for the mess he’d made of things. 

Worse, he couldn’t shake the vision of the boy’s eyes staring up at him from behind long lashes while he had his mouth full of Shiro’s cock. The thought was enough for his cock to twitch in interest. Shiro wrapped a hand around it. He’d barely even put a hand on Keith and it was simple enough to work himself back up by picturing the boy naked or imagining the weight of him on Shiro’s tongue. He would make the most beautiful noises when Shiro brought him to completion. A few moments imagining the pleasure he owed Keith brought Shiro to a quite satisfactory climax. 

Shiro continued to berate himself in his second post-orgasm daze of the afternoon. How had he let the boy offer up his mouth without asking for anything? Especially since it had been the boy’s first time. No, Shiro had to let himself be dazzled by a pretty mortal face. Never mind he had friends who had driven mortals mad with just a glimpse of their beauty. Shiro was undone by a shy smile and a blush. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to make a deal for exchanging sexual favours. Keith’s virginity would have been a non-issue if Shiro had actually bargained for it. 

Powers below. He was an idiot. At this rate he was going to get himself stuffed in a ring like a djinn. 

Even as he sat there, dwelling on his mistakes, the debt tugged at him. There were flashes of need as Keith wanted things that Shiro could provide: nicer clothes, kinder teachers, more speed, revenge for petty slights. Shiro ignored them as best he could. He pulled the rest of his clothes off and laid among the soft grasses covering the forest floor. He watched the sun move through the leaves. The small creatures returned when it became clear the human wasn’t coming back. The scent of Keith’s sweat and tears slowly faded to be replaced by that of the earth and forest. Even the distant sound of planes and the highway faded as Shiro nudged his realm away from the mortal world. 

The returning peace was rent apart by a blast of Keith’s need. Shiro was at the border to the mortal world before he fully understood what the debt was calling him to do. Keith needed a sexual partner and the affinity of the need to the first exchange strengthened the pull to settle the debt. Keith had given Shiro something and there were no set terms for repayment. Until Shiro provided services to match the value of what Keith had given him, the unbalanced debt would call to him.

Shiro snarled at a hapless deer and stalked back to his clearing. He wasn’t an expert on mortals but he knew he couldn’t show up because the boy was thinking about him when he jerked off. No matter how much he wanted to. Thankfully, Keith did not take long and fell asleep soon after. And Shiro could not balance the debt with dreams. 

The night passed in quiet splendour. The stars spun in their nightly patterns. Shiro breathed in the empty night. There was a deep power in the rhythms of the world. Shiro might only be a reflection of that power but it put the debt owed to a mortal in perspective. No matter how annoying it would be until the balance settled. The night would return after Keith was dust just as it did this night and had for all the nights of Shiro’s long life. Next to that, a boy’s first blowjob, freely given, meant nothing. 

Keith had the good grace to sleep past dawn, giving Shiro time to enjoy the renewal of light before needling him with the tiny obligations of morning toilette and getting to school. Constant attendance would be the fastest way to balance the debt but experience had taught Shiro to be more selective. Mortals got unpredictable when helped too frequently. Besides, if the debt settled into a pattern, it would be much easier to live with than the constant pull to settle. If Shiro tried haunting the human the debt would be constantly at him. It wasn’t until the afternoon that Keith’s needs settled into something appropriate for Shiro to fulfill: Keith wanted a ride home. 

Well before the time Shiro needed to pick Keith up, he strode to the edge of the forest and called forth magic. The unmet debt let the magic flood towards him. It was partially why his kind made deals with mortals, though Shiro had no appetite for trying to siphon off excess power. The more wasteful he was, the sooner the debt would be settled. When all the magic had gathered he called forth a means of conveyance. Shiro knew that horses were no longer appropriate, much to his regret. He did not know what he should use to pick up a boy from school. He let the magic decide what would be appropriate. 

The world twisted beneath him until he was standing next to a road. Shiro could have smacked himself, he knew that he’d need a vehicle to get Keith. It would have been impossible to get a carriage or wagon out of a pasture bordering the woods. After a breath, a horseless carriage appeared. Not a carriage, a car, Shiro corrected himself. This was bigger than most cars. It was almost as tall as Shiro, and longer in both the hood and rear cabin. It probably wasn’t too much wider than the cars Shiro normally saw but it seemed so. It dominated the small rural road Shiro stood on. Opalescent white, it glittered in the afternoon sun. 

It took Shiro a moment to realize he was supposed to enter the front opposite side of the vehicle. The car was upholstered in a light brown leather. Nearly every surface was covered in the soft material. The seats were more than wide enough to accommodate Shiro. Along with a steering wheel, there was a dizzying array of buttons and other controls. Given that no unfortunate woodland creature had been transformed into a driver, Shiro assumed the car would drive itself. That proved to be the case as the car rumbled to life and sped Shiro to his destination. 

Keith’s school was a massive building several stories tall and clearly intended to hold thousands of people. The parking lot was a chaotic mess of cars and students. Shiro thanked the magic for steering his enormous car through the bewildering swirl. Better still, a parking spot opened up right outside the doors where he’d meet Keith. For all it’s banal solidity, the mortal world was marvellously receptive to magic. 

Shiro got out of the car and leaned against it with his arms crossed. He hoped he cut an imposing figure in his charcoal-black suit with ivory tie and colour square. Current fashion was so restrained, it was hard to tell if he looked impressive. Embroidery or lace at least showed that someone had put a lot of time into the clothing. At least it was well-fitted, the fine cotton stretching over the muscles in his arms and across the front of his thighs. Unfortunately, the shoes, while an elegant glossy black leather, had no heels and barely any tooling. They were quite plain to Shiro’s taste. Still, the first students fleeing the school all stopped to stare at him. The magic had not been wrong about the clothes. 

A few minutes passed, as tiny flickers of need prodded the debt. Did Keith really need someone to carry his books? Though the desire for protection made Shiro frown disapprovingly. Schools were supposed to be safe, weren’t they? Well, he’d have to work out a solution. Looming threateningly had backfired spectacularly in the past and Shiro’s didn’t want to be a full-time bodyguard anyways. 

Desires flickered out from the passing students, mostly lust for Shiro or his apparent wealth. Not that any of them had much to entice Shiro. No small number had nothing but their youth, lacking even the innocence that was every mortal’s first birthright. That these children could be so ill-used was enough to make Shiro hunger to stalk the land with the Wild Hunt once more. Children deserved to have their gifts nurtured and used to bring the best possible bargains, not cast aside at the first opportunity. His increasingly gruesome “solutions” to the mistreatment were interrupted by Keith’s appearance. 

He was almost on top of Shiro when he must have realized he knew the man leaning against the car. The boy stopped dead, staring at Shiro in confusion. “Shiro?” 

“Keith,” Shiro said. “I’m here to give you a ride home.”

Keith approached like a wary deer. One eye on the potential threat and one eye on the way out, circling so he didn’t have to reverse course if he bolted. “How did you know where I went to school?”

Why were mortals always so worried about how he knew things? At least this time he had a plain answer, “You told me. Remember?” Keith had expected the name of the school to explain to Shiro why he felt so out of place and isolated. It hadn’t, but at least he’s told Shiro which meant Shiro had an answer other than “magic.”

“Oh, but why are you here?” Keith asked, holding the distance between them open despite the bustle of students. 

Shiro shrugged. “You needed a ride home.”

“Hey, looks like Kinky Keith found a pedo to make some money off of.” 

The comment came from an expensively dressed group of students milling around the steps leading to the door Keith had came out of. It was clearly intended for Keith to overhear, though perhaps not Shiro. Too bad for them his hearing was much better than a mortal’s. 

Shiro stormed over to the group, calling the chill and menace of a winter’s night around him like a cloak. He unerringly picked out the heckler from his group of friends. 

“What did you call me?” His voice boomed like ice cracking in deep winter. 

The boy went as pale as milk. “N-n-nothing. I didn’t call you anything.”

“Liar.” Shiro tried to restrain his anger and made the declaration come out in a more human voice. 

The was the sudden smell of hot piss. “I said you were a pedo,” the heckler said in a voice smaller than a mouse. 

Shiro’s next question was interrupted by a hand on his arm.

“C’mon, Shiro, lets just go,” Keith said. 

“As you wish.” The debt shifted towards balance slightly as Keith took his right to punish the other boy. 

“Leave Keith alone,” Shiro rumbled before turning back to the car. 

The boy’s “yessir,” was only barely audible. 

Keith said nothing until they got into the car. 

“You can’t do that,” he told Shiro, as if he were Shiro’s master and Shiro his wayward apprentice. “They’ll just make my life even more miserable tomorrow.”

“He won’t,” Shiro growled. The debt had shifted again when the heckler had agreed. 

“It’s bad enough you show up at my school looking like that,” he gestured at Shiro, “in a car looking like this. I told you I like to keep a low profile.”

Mortal concerns were unfathomable. Shiro’s appearance spoke of wealth and power; his intervention against the heckler showed that Keith was under his protection. Shouldn’t that make the other students behave?

“I don’t have any other car,” Shiro said. 

“That’s not really the point,” Keith sighed. “Thanks for coming to get me. I wasn’t looking forward to the walk home.”

“I’m glad to be of service.” The acknowledgement shifted the debt towards balance once again. It wasn’t much compared to the total weight but it would add up nicely after a few weeks. 

“Where are we going?” Keith asked suddenly. 

Shiro squeezed his eyes shut in vexation. He had no mortal reason to know where Keith lived. “Autopilot.” Metaphorical truths were so convenient when dealing with mortals. “But I can take you home if you let me know where to go?” 

“Unless you wanted to take me somewhere else?” Keith’s voice sounded far too enticing for a boy who’d had no experience yesterday. 

Somewhere like a field of soft grasses and the setting sun making Keith’s skin glow golden-red? Somewhere they wouldn’t be interrupted and Shiro could take everything Keith offered. Where he could go mad with desire and trade away his name and power for just one more of Keith’s shy smiles. 

“Home. I’ll take you home,” Shiro said decisively. He was going to make things worse. 

“Okay. “ Relief and disappointment mixed in Keith’s voice. 

Mortals were crazy. 

“Do you spend a lot of time in the forest?” Keith asked. 

“Yes, it helps me recharge,” Shiro said. “It’s very relaxing.”

“I guess I know where to find you then,” Keith said before directing Shiro to turn at the next intersection. 

“Most of the time,” Shiro agreed. 

“It must be nice to be that rich,” Keith said. “You can just hang out in a forest instead of going to work or whatever.”

“It has its own problems,” Shiro replies. He hoped Keith wouldn’t noticed he taken the next right without being told. 

“Everyone’s got problems, I guess,” Keith said. There was a noticeable pause. “I’m glad you listened to mine for awhile.”

The mortal said nothing, of course, about the once in a lifetime event. Humans valued the weirdest things. 

“It was easy enough to do.” Getting sucked off had been delightfully easy, too, but cost a lot more. Coaxing Keith to open up yesterday had been supposed to lure him into making a deal with Shiro, not mindless sex. But Shiro had let himself be distracted and Keith’s natural frustration at the paucity of his prospects, romantically speaking, had led them both astray. 

Keith sighed. “I don’t know why I bothered you with stupid teenager problems,” he said. “You probably have stocks and big money problems or something.”

“Your problems still matter to you,” Shiro pointed out. “Especially the ones you haven’t overcome before.”

“I guess.” Keith looked at him for a long moment. He seemed like he was going to say something but then shrugged and looked out the window. 

“Was today better than yesterday?” Giving life-changing advice would clear the debt quickly. 

“Most days are better than yesterday,” Keith said.

“Good.” 

The conversation lapsed except for Keith offering directions. After a short time they pulled up in front of a rather dilapidated bungalow. The lawn was unkempt and fence needed repainting and patching up. Shiro thought he could see some missing shingles on the roof. None of that seemed to be particularly important to Keith, so the traditional recompense of improving the homestead was not an option to balance the debt. Damn. 

“Hey, my foster-dad won’t be home for a couple hours,” Keith blurted. “You could come in?”

While Keith’s obvious need for physical affection and intimacy drove the debt into Shiro like a needle, he didn’t trust himself not to accept more from Keith. He’d never be able to limit himself to reciprocating yesterday’s blowjob. Even the constant irritation of the debt couldn’t stop Shiro from burning with the desire to take every little thing Keith offered in response to a little kindness and attention. 

“I’d love to—“ more than the stars love the moon ”—but I have one of those rich people problems to deal with. I can pick you up tomorrow though?”

“Sure,” Keith grabbed his bag and then hesitated. He leaned over and kissed Shiro lightly on the mouth. “It’s a date.”

The balance titled wildly. Keith had just given away his first real kiss. Fucking powers below. Stupid idiot brained mortals without the sense of an inbred turkey. Especially since none of them had kissed Keith before. Keith wasn’t that young for a human, someone should have noticed he was beautiful and passionate and worth kissing. 

“Oh,” Keith interrupted Shiro’s internal tirade. He’d sat back in his chair and had been watching Shiro. “I-I’m sorry, I thought—“

Shiro leaned across the console and kissed Keith properly. He caress Keith’s cheek and wrapped his other hand in Keith’s hair. Keith tasted like peanut butter and sunlight. His skin was soft and warm beneath Shiro’s palm. 

Keith put one hand in the crook of Shiro’s neck and another on the back of Shiro’s head but he clearly didn’t know what to do with them. 

The car began to fuzz as the magic responded to Keith’s desire. Some kind of sex with Shiro would help balance the debt. The car could be changed to offer privacy and comfort for the task. It’d help redress the balance that Keith’s impulsive kiss had further upset.

Shiro pulled himself away with a groan. If he took the rest of Keith’s virginity without a proper exchange, he’d be driving the boy’s grandchildren to school. 

“I have to go,” he said with great reluctance. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Keith was appealingly flushed. His lips were swollen and his eyes open wide. It took him a moment to find his voice. “Okay, I’ll see you after school.” 

Shiro could almost feel the effort it took for the boy to get out of the car. He watched as Keith walked up to the house, unlocked the door and went inside. 

He beat his head against the steering wheel as the car took him back to the forest. He was such an idiot. His opinion of himself wasn’t improved when the debt needled him about Keith’s need for a partner before the car had made it to the end of the block. The car lasted long enough to get him back to the edge of the forest. It dissolved, leaving Shiro to lie in a self-recriminating heap on the side of the road. It wasn't until moonset that he managed to drag himself into the forest proper for some rest.

The next day went more easily. The debt was less irritating now that Shiro had paid some of it back, even if he'd incurred more. Shiro walked the edges of his realm. He tended to the green things that needed tending and steadied the deeper flows of power. He needed the solace of old rituals after exposure to Keith's dynamism. Mortals changed so quickly, they were exhausting. If Shiro was going to have regular contact with Keith to settle his debt, he needed this refuge. 

But as the sun passed its peak, the debt prodded him out of his daily routine. He was going to have to pay more attention to the rhythms of the mortal world. It was too easy to let the years slip by. If that happened, he'd never be able to settle the debt. So it was good that he had a daily errand to see to the debt. He could weave his trip to see Keith into his normal routine.

Shiro was still a spectacle in the parking lot. The students gawked and whispered but didn't approach him. Apparently making one of the more well known students piss himself in fear gave him a certain reputation. No one bothered Keith, either. Good. Shiro did not want to pay his debt by being a perpetual shoulder to cry on. 

Keith didn’t hesitate to approach Shiro this time. “You’re here,” he said. 

“Of course,” Shiro said. “I said I would be.”

“Good to know,” was all Keith said.

They got into the car and Keith asked, “why did you get one this big?”

“It seemed appropriate,” Shiro answered. When Keith looked skeptical, he continued, “I didn’t pay attention.”

“You got a car this fancy and you weren’t paying attention?” He sounded offended. “Just how rich are you?”

“I don’t have to worry about it.” 

Mortals were so obsessed with wealth. Shiro couldn’t understand why they’d give up so much for something with so little value. At least, so little value after the meager amounts a mortal usually acquired. And they trade away their entire life for more than they could wisely spend. It was madness.

Keith seemed to accept his answer and let the ride pass in silence. When they pulled up in front of his house he said, “You memorized the way here in one trip?” 

Shiro shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult.” Especially since the magic of the car did the driving. Shiro had never learned how to use the new mode of transportation. 

“Are you going to pick me up everyday?” Keith asked. He didn’t move to unbuckle his restraints. 

“Yes.” The debt had shifted towards balance. If Shiro could limit their interactions to transportation, he could clear the debt in a year or two without further complications. 

“Great,” Keith said with a curious mix of emotions. 

He undid his restraints and leaned over the centre console to kiss Shiro with more enthusiasm than skill. Shiro pulled back and restarted the kiss more gently. Keith quickly got the idea. Shiro almost choked when the debt shifted more. It was a shift towards balance but he’d never imagined repaying a mortal by teaching one how to kiss. 

Keith was the one to stop. “My foster dad is home, so I should probably go inside before he gets suspicious.”

Shiro nodded gravely. He’d learned long ago not to meddle with parents. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

“Got it.” Keith gave him another quick peck on the lips and then bolted from the car. 

Finally, Shiro had an interaction with Keith that had gone reasonably well. As the car took him home to the forest, he contemplated spending the next year or two driving Keith home from school. It wasn’t the worst deal he’d made with a mortal and it would be so much less stressful than the direct actions of the old days. Sure, he could clear the debt much sooner by feeding and caring for the boy’s every need but mortals tended to be weirdly upset by that. A debt this badly unbalanced usually ended up with the mortal going mad. No, Shiro thought as he settled into his nightly routine, this day was much better. 

The next day proved that it was not going to be as simple as giving Keith rides in a magic car. The first surprise was someone approaching Shiro while he leaned against the car. 

“So you’re Shiro?” the student said. 

The student was male, darker-skinned than Keith, and much heavier. His dark hair was held out of his eye by an orange headband and he wore a t-shirt with strange emblem that Shiro didn’t recognize. His eyes were bright with fury but Shiro could still see the intelligence in them. His desires focused on protecting Keith but he also had deeper creative impulses. This boy, whoever he was, wanted to make things. That was not Shiro’s domain so he did not allow himself to be distracted by the boy’s beauty. 

“I’m Shiro,” he said. 

“What are you doing with Keith?” the student said and continued before Shiro could answer. “He was pretty upset yesterday and he says you helped but I’m not going to let you take advantage of him.”

The student had come right up in front of Shiro and stared up at him with a fierce expression. He didn’t have to stare as far up as Shiro would have expected. 

“Hunk!” Keith shouted. “What are you doing?” 

“Making sure tall dark and broody over here knows he can’t get with whatever he’s planning on doing.”

Keith sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you,” he said. “I knew you’d cause trouble.”

“He hasn’t caused trouble,” Shiro said, trying to defuse the situation. 

“But I will!” Hunk said. “If you hurt Keith, I will make so much trouble.”

One more reason to avoid more energetic ways of paying off the debt. 

“Shiro’s fine, Hunk,” Keith said tiredly. “He’s just good to talk to.”

The lie sounded obvious to Shiro but Hunk seemed to accept it. The obsession with dishonesty was another part of mortal life that confused Shiro endlessly. It only seemed to work at smoothing conflicts over about half the time and made things so much worse the rest of the time. Fortunately, Shiro didn’t have to deal with the idiosyncrasy much. He couldn’t lie and mortals tended not to lie to him. 

“I bet you think he’s fine,” Hunk muttered. “If you think you can just dazzle Keith with your fancy Jeep and your everything, think again. I have your license plate number. I will track you down. I know cops. I will get you arrested.”

License plate? What number? Shiro has to stop himself from peering at the car to see what Hunk was talking about. 

“I have no intention of hurting Keith.” Especially not since mortals seemed to have gotten harder to scare off in the last few centuries. You couldn’t cover up mistakes with shadows and nightmares anymore. 

“That’s enough, Hunk,” Keith interrupted. “Let’s go, Shiro. I don’t want to be late getting home.”

“I’ll be calling in fifteen minutes,” Hunk said. “So no side trips!”

Shiro nodded at Hunk and got into the car. 

“Sorry about Hunk,” Keith said after he got into the passenger seat. “I told him he didn’t need to worry about you but he likes to make a big deal out of things.”

“He didn’t bother me.” Shiro focused on pretending to drive. The magic would keep Keith from noticing but it gave him something to do. 

“He won’t go to the cops unless something bad happens,” Keith promised. 

“I’m not worried.” He still wasn’t sure who the cops were but mortal authorities couldn’t follow him home. 

“Good.” Keith leaned over to put his head on Shiro’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t go to the cops either. Not for you just doing what I asked you to.”

That seemed like a potential opening for a bargain. All of the ploys that came to mind broke on the shores of the existing debt. Anything broad enough to protect Shiro from unbalanced obligations would make it too hard to settle the debt he already had. Nor he could he figure out how to get Keith to phrase what he wanted as a deal. Shiro was still pondering the issue when the car pulled up in front of Keith’s house. 

A man stood on the lawn. The fence wasn’t even chest high on him. He wore a tank top which showed off his impressive biceps. The white streaks coming from his temples made it look like he’d tried and failed at looking distinguished. The lines on his face showed the white hair was honest. When Keith saw the frown he slid down in his seat. 

“That’s my foster dad,” he said. “Did he see me?”

Keith’s foster dad pointed at the spot on the curb where Shiro usually parked. 

“Yes,” Shiro said. The car paused instead of pulling in. 

“Pull in, we can’t avoid him forever.” Keith sighed. 

The car pulled in and parked. Shiro got out and walked over to Keith’s guardian. He frantically tried to remember how courtesy worked these days. Bowing and kneeling was out, he was pretty sure. Kissing cheeks? Shaking hands? It was so hard to keep track. 

Keith’s guardian held his hand out. Shaking hands it was. Shiro grabbed the offered hand, squeezed, and pumped. 

“Hello, Keith’s foster dad, I’m Shiro.” He saw Keith wince out of the corner of his eye. 

“I’m Thrace,” he said curtly. “I understand you’ve been giving Keith rides home.”

“I have,” Shiro said.

Thrace narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

Shiro hated that question. Mortals always wanted things to make sense to them. They were never happy with complete answers to that question. Authority figures were worse. They wanted answers that matched their expectations for proper behaviour. So Shiro knew that “balancing a debt incurred by accepting Keith’s first blow job” would not be a good answer. 

Thankfully, his nature didn’t require him to answer all questions posed to him. “I have a lot of free time.” 

“And you just decided to give a teenage boy rides?” 

“I met Keith after a bad day at school,” Shiro explained. “Giving him a ride home seemed like a good way to make his life at school easier.”

Thrace spun on Keith. “You didn’t tell me you were having more trouble at school.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “My grades are fine and I didn’t get in trouble. There was nothing to tell.”

“There was something if ‘Shiro’,” he gave the name a derisive emphasis, “is now picking you up in his fancy car every day after school.” 

“I thought you said I should be taking care of my own problems,” Keith short back. “If you don’t like how I do it, that’s your problem.”

“You solved it by getting involved with an older man?” Thrace’s face was almost going purple. 

“No!” Keith shouted. “I just made a friend. Why does everyone assume he’s going to molest me?”

Shiro controlled his expression. He wasn’t clear on the meaning of “molest” but he thought letting Keith blow him qualified. But Keith sounded like he believed his words, despite what he’d said on the ride over. Shiro hoped it would become true. Supportive older friend was a much less precarious role than older lover. Especially for a near-virgin like Keith. 

“Why else would a man his age spend so much time with a teenage boy he barely knows?”

“I knew you thought I was a fuck up,” Keith said bitterly, “but I didn’t know you thought I the only thing I was good for was a piece of ass.” 

He stormed past his foster parent and into the house. The door slammed hard enough to know a planter off the window sill. It’s crash was loud in the awkward silence following his departure. 

Thrace seemed at a total loss for words. He was ill-positioned to continue his interrogation of Shiro. He half-turned to follow Keith into the house before turning back to face Shiro. “If you hurt Keith or take advantage of him, I’ll make sure you go to prison.”

That was a much less unpleasant threat than decapitation, being impaled with iron spikes, and being buried at the crossroads under a new moon. “I understand.”

After a long searching look, Thrace turned away and went back into the house. Shiro got back into the car and let it drive him home. He was pretty sure he could keep giving Keith rides home. These conversations would be worth it if they encouraged Keith to curtail his romantic aspirations. Mortals were hard enough to deal with when they weren’t in love. 

The next day did not see him accosted by Keith’s friends and family. It seemed three times made patterns for mortals as well as fae. It might have had something to with Keith racing out of the school seconds after the final bell rang. If Hunk wanted to remonstrate with Shiro some more, he was too far behind Keith. The car drove off before there were more than a few students milling about waiting for rides. 

“I don’t want to go straight home,” Keith said.

The car passed the turn towards Keith’s house. 

Keith was apparently resistant to patterns. It had been too optimistic to hope the debt could be settled so simply. 

“Where do you want to go?” Shiro felt obliged to ask. 

“Let’s go to your place.” Keith glanced over at Shiro. 

“My place?” Did he mean the forest? But mortals didn’t live in the woods anymore. At least not this close to the city. 

“Yeah,” Keith said. “I mean, if it’s okay. I won’t mind if your condo or house or whatever is a little messy.”

Condo? House? He didn’t have either of those. But if Keith wanted to go there, the magic would provide. It flowed out in a torrent, pulling the car to some new destination. Shiro could feel the landscape of the city shift and twist. He stared out the window as Keith made light conversation. It had been years since he’d done magic on this scale. Wherever the car was going, he now had a condo there.

“Is it okay if we go to your place?” Keith asked. 

“Yes,” Shiro said. “I was just distracted.”

“About what?” 

Shiro just caught himself from answering the with plain truth. Mortals and magic no longer mixed. “Thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve been in this situation.”

“Taking a guy home?” Keith snorted. “What? You usually go to his place?”

“I just keep to myself,” Shiro explained. 

“So I interrupted your hermit time?”

“If I hadn’t been open to company, you wouldn’t have found me.” It took a specific effort of will to deny the old bargain and close the paths against the needy. 

“You’d have disappeared before I saw you?”

“I wouldn’t have been on the path you were on.”

“I’m glad you let me find you,” Keith said shyly. 

Shiro thought his answer over for a moment. “I’m glad you found me, too.” Keith’s company would enliven the next few years at least. Shiro knew the value of entertainment and novelty. 

“Had to think about that?” Keith glanced over at Shiro. 

The car pulled to a stop in front of a tall building. It was over ten stories tall and made mostly of concrete and greenish glass. Only the balcony railings and window brackets were metal and they gleamed in the setting sun. The magic told Shiro his condo was the penthouse suite. An image of a garden and elegantly landscaped pool flickered in his mind. He tried to ignore the salacious possibilities of the water feature. 

“You’re not certain if you’re happy to be with me,” Keith said when Shiro hadn’t replied. 

“It’s complicated,” Shiro temporized. “Being with you is complicated. But it will be worth it.” 

“You don’t even know me,” Keith protested. 

Shiro smiled at him. “I know you feel strongly about what’s important to you. I know you’re smart and talented and you want to be more than just another orphan in foster care. I know you’re capable of the determination and discipline you’ll need to reach your goals.”

The debt shifted closer to balance. 

“Come on up,” Shiro said as Keith looked introspective. 

The building’s lobby was just a small room with an elevator at the far end. The glossy marble floor provided some concession to luxury but it was otherwise empty. Shiro could tell the magic fogged Keith’s expectations. 

Keith didn’t say anything until the elevator doors closed. “I’m just the kid who sucked you off.” Skepticism and incredulity almost masked the self-deprecation in his voice. “How can you know all that?”

If he was human, Shiro would have answered that he had faith in Keith. He was burdened with knowledge instead. It was his nature to know what mortals wanted and if they could get it. It would not do to make a bargain with the mediocre or those doomed to failure. “We’ve also talked. I can tell by the way you talk about your life that you won’t be happy just getting by. I can tell from what you’ve said about your classes that you’re good enough to make it.”

Keith snorted. “Are you sure you aren’t just trying to sweet talk me into another blow job?”

Not unless he could talk Keith into a proper deal first. “You needed physical affection and I gave it to you.” Because he was an idiot and couldn’t say no to a pretty mortal. “If you only need advice and a shoulder to cry on, that’s fine, too.”

The elevator doors opened with a ding. The penthouse was a wide open space with small trees and plants breaking up the lines of sight and tucked into every corner. The floor was a rich cream carpet. The furniture was upholstered in dark brown and charcoal leather. The white walls seemed to glow where Shiro could see them through the plants. At least where there weren’t paintings or other art. 

Keith walked into the suite staring. “How much does all this cost?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” Shiro answered. “It came furnished.”

“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Keith said. “How can you not know what something costs?”

Shiro didn’t know how anyone could know how much something cost. “I’ve never needed to know.”

Keith glared at him. “I’m not sure I like you right now.”

“I don’t understand,” Shiro said. 

Keith sighed in exasperation. “People like you never do.”

“You wanted to see my place,” Shiro prompted to change the subject. 

“Yeah, I thought we could watch a movie or something,” Keith muttered. 

“Or something?” Shiro couldn’t help prodding at Keith’s embarrassment. 

“Well, yeah,” Keith stared at the floor. “But I’m good to watch a movie.”

There was a problem with that plan. “I don’t have a TV.” The magic has limits and cable, internet, and movies were well outside them. 

“Oh.” Keith looked like someone who was trying to balance what he what wanted to do with what he thought he was supposed to do. “I guess we could skip straight to the something.”

Part of Shiro definitely found that appealing. The rest of him reminded him that that’s how he got involved with Keith in the first place. The debt pulled at him and reminded him of the cost of listening to the less disciplined part of himself. 

“We don’t have to do anything. We can go out somewhere,” Shiro said. 

“I want to,” Keith said. “I’m not doing this just because you took me to your condo and that’s what gay boys are supposed to do for their sugar daddies.”

If Shiro had been drinking, he would have sprayed the drink all over himself. “I haven’t bought you anything,” he said before the thought of a drink reminded him of his duties as a host. “Would you like anything to drink? In exchange for the pleasure of your company?” Hopefully the formal words wouldn’t sound too weird to the mortal boy. 

“I’ll have a coke,” Keith said. 

“Not going to try for a beer?” Shiro was fairly sure it was a forbidden drink now. 

Keith made a face. “No. I’m not here to drink.”

The unbalanced debt pulled at Shiro. Keith had very clear desires and it would be so easy for Shiro to give in. It didn’t matter that it would mean Keith giving more to Shiro than Shiro could return. The debt just pushed toward meeting Keith’s immediate wants. Shiro needed to get better at steering them. 

“What are you here to do?” Shiro asked. 

“Sex,” Keith blurted and then went crimson. 

“That covers a lot,” Shiro pointed out. It varied tremendously, too. One century, mutual masturbation is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. The next century, it’s an unspeakable sin. Shiro had long since given up in trying to figure it out. 

“I could do what I did before?” Keith stared at the floor. 

“Is that all you want to do?” Shiro asked gently. It was tricky getting mortals to admit their desires out loud. 

“You could do the same to me?” Shy hope filled Keith’s voice. 

“It’s a deal,” Shiro said.

At Keith’s nod, there was the slightest change in the magic. Normally, power would gather so that Shiro could use magic to grants the mortal’s desires but since he only needed his mouth, there was no gathering of power. The debt no longer pulled at Shiro, though, since Keith’s current desires were accounted for in this proper deal. Nor would the debt increase even though a blow job was not equivalent to another portion of Keith’s virginity. 

“Do you want me to do you first?” Keith asked. 

“If that’s what you want,” Shiro said. 

Shiro led Keith into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the king-sized bed. He unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants down. Keith stared. Shiro spread his legs in invitation. Keith went to his knees in front of Shiro. As before, he was clumsy but enthusiastic. He ran his spare hand over Shiro’s thighs and up his shirt. 

It didn’t take long. Neither of them were trying to draw it out. Shiro warned Keith but the boy didn’t pull off, a determined look on his face. Keith coughed but didn’t choke. 

He grinned up at Shiro, face flushed and eyes bright. “Good?”

“Good.” Shiro pulled Keith to his feet and kissed him.

He went to his knees and pulled Keith’s pants down. Keith squeaked and tried to cover himself. 

“None of that.” Shiro gently pulled Keith’s hands away. 

“I’m not as...” Keith’s voice failed for a second. “Everything as you.” 

“That’s okay, I like it just fine.” Shiro nuzzled into Keith for a moment before taking him into his mouth. 

“Oh!” Keith said and clutched at Shiro’s shoulders. 

Keith finished even more quickly than Shiro. He’d barely been able to choke out a warning. Shiro only swallowed and sat on the bed while Keith leaned on him and recovered. 

There was a long moment of resting and contemplation. They arranged themselves in a loose cuddle on the end of the bed after pulling their pants up. The combination of a fast fumbling and leisurely aftermath pleased Shiro. He wondered what would have happened if Keith’s phone hadn’t gone off so soon after their first encounter. 

Eventually Keith rolled over and asked, “what happens now?” 

At a loss, Shiro checked to see what the debt said Keith needed. Keith was hungry. “Dinner,” Shiro decides. The magic surged to create a proper feast but Shiro reined it in. Having to explain where it all came from would be exhausting. How did mortals arrange for food these days? Oh right. “We can order in?” 

“Okay,” Keith said. 

It was difficult to get Keith to express a preference for dinner. He attempted to defer to Shiro’s taste when Shiro asked for suggestions. As Shiro knew almost nothing about restaurants it was an exercise in frustration. They settled on a meat lover’s pizza. Shiro was certain nothing on it would resemble actual meat but it was better than how humans occasionally tried to replace meat with inferior substitutes. Shiro had nothing against herbivores but plants and meat were not interchangeable. 

There was an awkward pause after they ordered while Keith cursed his lack of a data plan and Shiro tried to understand what that meant. He could magically provide data but without knowing how that worked, it risked being something he couldn’t explain. Mortals were so much more difficult to manage than they used to be. He did manage to distract Keith by asking him about piloting. With no more prompting than that, Keith spent the rest of the time extolling the virtues of various flight simulator packages and their usefulness in preparing for the garrison academy. 

“So what do you do?” Keith asked around bites of pizza. 

Mortals always had difficult questions. “I spend a lot of time outside.”

“Doing what?” Keith spoke with his mouth full. Had manners changed again or was Keith not following them?

“Hunting sometimes.” Shiro bit into the mass of salted meat, crust, and mild cheese to buy time. “And trying to help land recover from mo—human interference. Even where they didn’t cut everything down there are invasive species and other disruptions to the system.”

Shiro found himself ranting about mortals’ habit of destroying nature without even meaning to. Keith kept asking questions to spur him on. The boy watched him carry on with glittering eyes so Shiro couldn’t make himself turn the conversation to more sedate topics. So few mortals cared enough to listen. It had gotten better over the last century at least, with the rise of environmentalism. It was much easier to find words palatable to mortals to describe the damage and the ideal he was working towards. 

From there, the conversation drifted back to school and Keith’s favourite classes and his friends. Keith focused on what he liked, perhaps not wanting to bring the mood down with any upsetting stories. Together with the conversation they’d had the day they met, Shiro was starting to get a more balanced view of Keith’s life at school. The bullying and harassment that had sent Keith running from school was intermittent. Many days—most days—Keith got by without too much trouble. He had friends and supportive teachers to go to as wells as the bullies and hostile teachers. It explained why the debt hadn’t pulled at him to wreak vengeance yet. That was for the best; vengeance complicated things. 

Eventually Keith chanced to look at the clock on the wall. He trailed off as he concentrated on reading the analog display. Shiro glanced over at it. 

“It’s almost ten,” Shiro said. 

“Oh shit.” Keith pulled his phone out and checked it. “I gotta call my foster dad.” He paused a for a moment before tapping on the phone a few times and raising it to his ear. “Hey, Thace, I’m gonna stay at Hunk’s tonight, okay?” He listened at his phone and made a few affirmative noises and then hung up. 

“There,” Keith said. “We’re in the clear.” 

“Planning on staying the night?” Shiro asked. 

“Yeah,” Keith said shyly. “I mean, if that’s okay.”

“I don’t have any other plans.” 

“I could give you some.” Keith was still blushing but seemed more confident. 

“I’m not fucking you,” Shiro said immediately. Even if he could talk Keith into a deal, it’d just complicate things. 

Keith’s blush reached the tips of his ears. “I wasn’t going to ask.”

Shiro tilted his head. “So what were you planning?” The debt still pushed Shiro towards offering sex but nothing else. 

“Um.” Keith rubbed the back of his neck. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I could show you a game on my phone?”

The only thing Shiro understood about the game was that points were numbers that continually got larger to no purpose that he could see. Keith assured him he was solving a puzzle but it made no sense to Shiro. Why solve puzzles for no reward? At least Keith seemed to find his questions amusing. 

After an hour of endless puzzles, Keith’s attention began to wander. The debt prodded Shiro to take care of Keith’s fatigue. He let the magic choose the perfect bed but kept it from energizing Keith directly. He wanted the mortal to sleep. 

“Time to sleep, Keith,” Shiro said as Keith poked ineffectively at his phone. “Your puzzles will still be there tomorrow.”

“Where’d you want me to sleep?” Keith asked, putting his phone away. 

“My bed.”

“Oh.” Keith’s blush returned in full force. 

Shiro took Keith’s hand and led him back to the bedroom. 

“I didn’t bring pyjamas,” Keith said as he stood in front of Shiro next to the bed. 

“I didn’t think you needed any.” Shiro pulled Keith’s shirt over his head. 

Keith kissed Shiro as soon as the shirt was out of the way. “Sounds good to me.”

They undressed slowly. Between his fatigue and Shiro’s stripping, Keith seemed to forget how to use his fingers. Shiro let the debt guide his movements, Keith seemed to want the opportunity to look without distraction and Shiro indulged him. 

When Keith hesitated over removing his underwear, Shiro grinned and pulled his own down. He gave Keith a heartbeat to look and then slid under the covers. Keith swallowed and followed suit. 

Silence fell as they lay crowded together on one side of the enormous bed. Shiro wrapped his arms around Keith and held him close. Keith tensed but slowly relaxed, pressing into Shiro. His ass pressed into Shiro’s crotch with intent. Shiro willed himself not to react. 

“Nice try,” Shiro whispered. “Just go to sleep. In exchange, I’ll suck you off in the morning.”

It was the most absurd deal Shiro had ever offered. Hopefully, no one would ever know he’d offered a mortal such a deal. 

“You got a deal,” Keith said laughing. 

Shiro let Keith get himself comfortable before unspooling the magic to send Keith to sleep. It would be the best sleep the mortal had ever had. Shiro did not sleep but allowed himself to wallow in the comfort of the bed and the warmth of the body in his arms. This week had been an experience. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to manage the debt Keith had created with reckless inattention but at least Shiro had found a number of subtle ways to begin to balance it. He also discovered that he’d been lucky in which mortal had stumbled into his clearing in tears. Attending Keith would be far more pleasant than many other mortals he’d become entangled with. 

Though it was the first night in centuries that Shiro had spent indoors, it was still relaxing. Keith was soft and warm in his arms and tomorrow promised new delights. 

Fin. 


End file.
